SAN BRUNO, Calif.—The West Coast Conference office announced men's soccer postseason honors Tuesday, and the Gonzaga University men's soccer team found itself well represented with seven players receiving awards.
Lars Ludwigs earned First Team All-WCC for the first time in his career. One of the Zags' co-captains, the senior scored two goals during his final year, including the game-winner Nov. 15 to end the season with a 2-1 win over Portland. This isn't his first postseason conference award, however, as he was named Second Team All-WCC in 2012 and Honorable Mention in 2013. Ludwigs also was named WCC Player of the Week just yesterday for his play against Portland.
Also ending his career with a conference award, Clark Phillips received Second Team All-WCC honors. Phillips led the squad with three goals and tied for the team lead with seven points as a senior, serving as the squad's other co-captain. He's earned WCC awards each year at Gonzaga, starting out with Honorable Mentions in 2011 and 2012 and Second Team honors last season.
Newcomer Ben White was also recognized for his strong play in 2014, earning two honors from the WCC. He was named to the All-Freshman team after starting 17 matches as an outside back for the Zags. White played 1,450 minutes in defense, the second-most on the team. In addition to a spot on the All-Freshman team, White picked up Honorable Mention honors as well.
Four other Zags joined White in receiving All-WCC Honorable Mention. Junior Conner Bevans earned his second consecutive Honorable Mention thanks to a two-goal , two-assist junior season. Both assists and one of those goals came in the Zags' 4-2 win over UNLV Sept. 20. Another upperclassman was named Honorable Mention as senior Zach Hamer ended his career with the postseason honor. Returning in late September from injury, Hamer provided two goals and one assist across 13 matches for the Bulldogs.
A pair of sophomores also earned their first career conference award Tuesday as both Graison Le and David Sigurdsson earned Honorable Mention. Le, a forward, scored two goals and assisted on three more - including both scores against Portland on Saturday - to tie for the team lead at seven points. Sigurdsson, meanwhile, made 15 starts on the backline, providing consistent defensive play as a center back for the Zags.
Gonzaga finished fifth in the WCC standings, ending conference play with a 3-3-1 record (4-12-1 overall). The Zags will graduate seven seniors in May: Ludwigs, Phillips, Hamer, Keane Ellis, Aaron Jeffery, Nate Pacheco, and Ben Striar.
2014 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year
Seamus McFadden, San Diego
2014 West Coast Conference Player of the Year
Connor Brandt, San Diego
2014 West Coast Conference Defender of the Year
Julian Ringhof, San Diego
2014 West Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year
Andre Rawls, Saint Mary's
2014 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year
Thomas Olsen, San Diego
2014 All-WCC Men's Soccer First Team
Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
Miguel Aguilar | Sr. | F | San Francisco |
Alex Braman | So. | D | Saint Mary's |
Connor Brandt | Sr. | M | San Diego |
Torrey DeArmas | Jr. | F | San Diego |
Danny Kirkland | Sr. | M | San Francisco |
Lars Ludwigs | Sr. | MF | Gonzaga |
Craig Nitti | Sr. | D | Loyola Marymount |
Adrien Perez | So. | MF | Loyola Marymount |
Julian Ringhof | Sr. | D | San Diego |
Eddie Sanchez | So. | M | Portland |
Rafael Sanchez | So. | D | Saint Mary's |
Andre Rawls | Sr. | GK | Saint Mary's |
2014 All-WCC Men's Soccer Second Team
Name | Yr. | Pos. | School |
Tristan Blackmon | Fr. | F | Pacific |
Sebastian De Rada | Sr. | MF | Loyola Marymount |
Carlo Eikani | So. | F | Saint Mary's |
Ryan Masch | Jr. | F | Santa Clara |
Kendall McIntosh | Jr. | GK | Santa Clara |
Thomas Olsen | Fr. | GK | San Diego |
Clark Phillips | Sr. | F | Gonzaga |
Hugo Rhoads | Jr. | D | Portland |
David Romney | Sr. | D | San Francisco |
Darragh Vieyra | Jr. | M | San Diego |
2014 WCC Men's Soccer Honorable Mention
Joshua Adachi, Pacific; Valdemar Andersen, Santa Clara; Conner Bevans, Gonzaga; Derek Boggs, Portland; Julio Cervantes, Pacific; Christian De Luna, San Francisco; Carlos Delgadillo, Santa Clara; Erik Edwardson, Portland; Steve Eneme, Santa Clara; Michael Escobar, Portland; Zach Hamer, Gonzaga; Chase Hauser, San Francisco; Will Kendall, Saint Mary's; Graison Le, Gonzaga; Aaron Lombardi, San Francisco; Kyle Macleod, San Diego; Alvaro Madrigal, Loyola Marymount; Jack McCracken, Loyola Marymount; Max Ornstil, Santa Clara; Manny Padilla, San Francisco; Vince Paldino, Loyola Marymount; Leon Prikhodovskiy, Loyola Marymount; Davi Ramos, San Francisco; Michael Semenza, Saint Mary's; Josh Smith, San Francisco; David Sigurdsson, Gonzaga; Ben White, Gonzaga; Brandon Zambrano, Portland
2014 All-WCC Men's Soccer Freshman Team
Name | Pos. | School |
Tristan Blackmon | F | Pacific |
Carlos Delgadillo | F | Santa Clara |
Steve Eneme | F | Santa Clara |
Bryce Kaminiski | F | San Francisco |
Antonio Lokossou | M | Saint Mary's |
Aaron Lombardi | M | San Francisco |
Alvaro Madrigal | F | Loyola Marymount |
Thomas Olsen | GK | San Diego |
Manny Padilla | D | San Francisco |
Ben White | D | Gonzaga |
Brandon Zambrano | F | Portland |